Why "The Tequila Worm" Matters

     As each school year goes by, I watch a little piece of my students' Latino bond fade away. The number of ELL (English Language Learners) students are still the same, but their connection to the culture seems like just an accent. Folklore and superstitions seem to be a distant memory instead of a guide to life. It seems like I, a "Afro Chicana" as I like to call myself, can identify more with my roots than my fully Latino students. 

     What my students don't realize is that when they leave the confines of their southern Texas home, the will never feel more Mexican. What they don't know is that in just five short years, when they graduate high school, they will know what it feels like to be the only Mexican in the room. The transition from majority to minority will shock them to the point where many of them will want to come back to the comfort of the RGV.

     The Tequila Worm comfortably teaches young adults that not only are these feelings normal, they are necessary. Not only can standing out make you stronger, it can be something to embrace. Growing up in a predominately Mexican community as a person who appears solely African American was a challenge. I cringe when I think back on the amount of ignorance I allowed in my presence. I don't ever want my students to feel like they should tolerate shallow comments because they were not raised to stand up for their culture and take pride in it. Like many of my students, Sofia learns the hard way that when life gets tough and you feel alone, going home does not solve the problem. In our culture,  home is everything. I already hear my students say that they can't leave the Valley because their parents need them. I cringe and bite my tongue because it is not my place to tell my students to leave their home, but trust me, I am internally pulling my hair and saying, "Get out while you can! Life is too short to resent your parents." The Tequila Worm  is a more gentler way of waking my students up, while making them laugh at the same time.